Page 7 of 8 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 LastLast
Results 61 to 70 of 77

Thread: Working with Fibreglass. Making a Hatch

  1. #61
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Name
    Jim
    State
    VIC
    Location
    Wodonga
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    104

    Default

    With the warmer weather, I was motivated to finish the mold. So far I have sanded wet and dry 180, 240 and 320. After this it will be 400, 600, 800, 1000, then polish.



    As you can see, there is lots of sanding and polishing left. There are a few minor imperfections that I need to fix before I continue. The flange around the edge of the mold is for strength and also so I can seal the vacuum bag to.

    If you look closely at this pic, you will notice I made the mold in 2 sections, mainly for storage really. A one piece mold would of worked just as well, and would of been easier to make.



    Its fun trying to sand in there!!

    I was thinking of adding this to the lower right hand corner of the hatch, just above the tail lights. This is an aluminium mold I machined, obviously the finished item will be fibreglass and part of the hatch

    Last edited by jimmy19650; 27th September 2011 at 11:40 PM.

  2. #62
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Name
    Jim
    State
    VIC
    Location
    Wodonga
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    104

    Default

    Looks like the last couple of pages have dissapperared from this post, anyway, here is the finished hatch fitted to a car. I have finally got all the thicknesses correct so I can use the original rubber if needed to fit the rear glass. This is the 5th hatch I've made before I was happy with the finished article. Personally, I'd prefer to silastic the rear glass in. As for the weight, its about 1 kg lighter than a standard hatch, but that includes the rear wing. It is fully functional, with all locks, struts and hinges being able to be screwed into the mounting plates I have incorporated into the laminate. I used a small bit of foam in the back of the wing to stiffen up the large flat section. I didn't make provision for the key lock in the back of the hatch. I reckon the large recess needed looks ugly. The hatch can be unlocked from inside the car as normal, or a remote solenoid if needed.


  3. #63
    Moderator Sam-Q's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Name
    Sam
    State
    VIC
    Location
    Endeavour Hills
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    4,242

    Default

    nice job, only 1kg lighter but it will never ever rust
    My website: SQ Engineering - 4AGE and 3SGE upgrade/replacement parts

    - SQ Engineering on facebook -

    Please e-mail to contact me instead of sending a private message on here.

  4. #64
    Veteran Rice86's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Name
    Richard
    State
    NSW
    Location
    Liverpool
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    1,853

    Default

    So... When can I place my order for one of these post to Sydney?
    dose

  5. #65
    Veteran skizzamods's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Name
    Oscar
    State
    SA
    Location
    Adelaide Hills
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    1,097

    Default

    what does a hatch weigh?
    could save more weight by using something other than glass as well.

    i'd be interested in one

  6. #66
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Name
    Jim
    State
    VIC
    Location
    Wodonga
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    104

    Default

    Thanks Sam. I spent a heap of time getting the joins the correct thickness so you can use the rubber for the rear glass. I've actually made 5 units so far. The entire hatch isnt much lighter than the standard steel hatch, but remember it has the wing added, is probably stiffer than the steel unit anyway, is fully functional with all standard hardware, and most importantly, won't rust. The whole unit could be made heaps lighter, but you would compromise functionability.

  7. #67
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Name
    Jim
    State
    VIC
    Location
    Wodonga
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    104

    Default

    Skizzamods, the hatch is about 1kg lighter than standard, with the wing added. If you use perspex or Lexan (both illegal for road use), you would save a substantial amount of weight as the glass is quite heavy. If you really wanted it to be light, you could use a carbon sandwich laminate, or even a glass sandwich laminate. Both methods would be really expensive, and really not worth it on a cost/weight ratio. Just removing gelcoat will save about 500grams

  8. #68
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Name
    Jim
    State
    VIC
    Location
    Wodonga
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    104

    Default

    Ok, got some final weights on the fibreglass hatches. I weighed an absolutely standard rear hatch with everything attached, and it came in at 23kg. The white hatch as you see in pics in exactly the same condition comes in at 19kg. So that is 4kg lighter. The good news is that the white hatch is actually a lot heavier than I would like, so i anticipate the final weight will be closer to 5kg lighter, or better. Put in a lexan or perspex rear screen, turf the wiper, glue the rear screen in to turf the rubber, bin the struts and trim, and you can easily save 12kg.

  9. #69
    Senior Member ae86 slide's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Name
    Jason
    State
    NSW
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    788

    Default

    Sounds like a great product and something that Im sure alot of members on here would be very interested in. If you do plan to make these a more mass produced item please send me a PM, I would be very interested in one depending on the price.

  10. #70
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Name
    Leigh
    State
    NSW
    Location
    Penshurst
    Country
    Australia
    Posts
    178

    Default

    Im pretty sure he isnt allowed to mention anything about selling them ...if he does the thread will go in the bin again and as this is one of the most interesting and impressive threads on this forum it would be a good idea not to memtion buying selling blah blah.

    I just read through the whole thread and it has given me a whole new understanding and appreciation of fibreglassing. Good work mate

Page 7 of 8 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. 86 - Fibreglass copy Hatch with built in Ducktail
    By dave2221 in forum Technical - Questions
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 5th August 2009, 10:59 AM
  2. fibreglass rear hatch ae86
    By dog89 in forum Cars or Parts Wanted
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 29th April 2008, 06:47 PM
  3. Fibreglass hatch. Give me opinions
    By 70XIN in forum General Topics (No Technical Questions)
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 16th September 2007, 11:21 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •